MDfl 


THE 
GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


HOUSEHOLD  ARTS 


By 
EVA  W. 


GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD 

61  BROADWAY  NEW  YORK 

1918 


HOUSEHOLD  ARTS 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

The  results  of  the  study  of  the  Gary  Public 
Schools,  undertaken  on  the  invitation  of  the  Super- 
intendent and  the  Board  of  Education  of  Gary,  will 
be  published  in  eight  parts,  as  follows: 

The  Gary  Schools :  A  General  Account 
BY  ABRAHAM  FLEXNER  AND  FRANK  P.  BACHMAN 

(25  Cents) 

Organization  and  Administration 
GEORGE  D.  STRAYER  AND  FRANK  P.  BACHMAN 

(15  Cents) 

Costs 
FRANK  P.  BACHMAN  AND  RALPH  BOWMAN 

(25  Cents) 

Industrial  Work 
CHARLES  R.  RICHARDS 

(25  Cents) 

Household  Arts 
EVA  W.  WHITE 

(10  Cents) 

Physical  Training  and  Play 
LEE  F.  HANMER 

(10  Cents) 

Science  Teaching 
OTIS  W.  CALDWELL 

(10  Cents) 

Measurement  of  Classroom  Products 
STUART  A.  COURTIS 

(30  Cents) 

Any  report  will  be  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  the 
amount  above  specified. 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


HOUSEHOLD   ARTS 


BY 
EVA  W.lwHITE 


GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD 

61  BROADWAY  NEW  YORK  CITY 

1918 


COPYRIGHT, 
BY 

•GENERAL  EDUCATION 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION vii 

I.    AIM  OF  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  WORK    ...  2 

A.  COOKING 

II.    TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT     .     .  3 

III.  THE  CAFETERIA 12 

IV.  STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION 17 

V.    TESTS .23 

VI.    MERITS  AND  DEFECTS 28 

B.  SEWING 

VII.    TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT     .     .  33 

VIII.    EQUIPMENT,  STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION    .  39 

IX.    TESTS 41 

X.    MERITS  AND  DEFECTS 44 


480881 


INTRODUCTION 
THE  GARY  PLAN 

In  the  last  few  years  both  laymen  and  professional 
educators  have  engaged  in  a  lively  controversy  as  to  the 
merits  and  defects,  advantages  and  disadvantages  of 
what  has  come  to  be  called  the  Gary  idea  or  the  Gary 
plan.  The  rapidly  increasing  literature  bearing  on  the 
subject  is,  however,  deficient  in  details  and  too  often 
partisan  in  tone.  The  present  study  was  undertaken 
by  the  General  Education  Board  at  the  request  of  the 
Gary  school  authorities  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  an 
accurate  and  comprehensive  account  of  the  Gary  schools 
in  their  significant  aspects. 

In  the  several  volumes  in  which  the  main  features  of 
the  Gary  schools  are  separately  considered,  the  reader 
will  observe  that,  after  presenting  facts,  each  of  the 
authors  discusses  or — in  technical  phrase — attempts  to 
evaluate  the  Gary  plan  from  the  angle  of  his  particular 
interest.  Facts  were  gathered  in  a  patient,  painstaking, 
and  objective  fashion;  and  those  who  want  facts,  and 
facts  only,  will,  it  is  believed,  find  them  in  the  descriptive 
and  statistical  portions  of  the  respective  studies.  But 
the  successive  volumes  will  discuss  principles,  as  well  as 

vii 


»  y  :  >.: 
•:  *"  *  •••••;  s 


v 


state  facts.  That  is,  the  authors  will  not  only  describe 
the  Gary  schools  in  the  frankest  manner,  as  they  found 
them,  but  they  will  also  endeavor  to  interpret  them  in  the 
light  of  the  large  educational  movement  of  which  they 
are  part.  An  educational  conception  may  be  sound  or 
unsound;  any  particular  effort  to  embody  an  educa- 
tional conception  may  be  adequate  or  inadequate,  effec- 
tive or  ineffective.  The  public  is  interested  in  knowing 
whether  the  Gary  schools  as  now  conducted  are  efficient 
or  inefficient;  the  public  is  also  interested  in  knowing 
whether  the  plan  as  such  is  sound  or  unsound.  The 
present  study  tries  to  do  justice  to  both  points. 

What  is  the  Gary  plan? 

Perhaps,  in  the  first  instance,  the  essential  features  of 
the  Gary  plan  can  be  made  clear,  if,  instead  of  trying  to 
tell  what  the  Gary  plan  is,  we  tell  what  it  is  not.  Ex- 
cept for  its  recent  origin  and  the  unusual  situation  as 
respects  its  foreign  population,  Gary  resembles  many 
other  industrial  centers  that  are  to  be  found  throughout 
the  country.  Now,  had  Gary  provided  itself  with  the 
type  of  school  commonly  found  in  other  small  industrial 
American  towns,  we  should  find  there  half  a  dozen  or 
more  square  brick  "soap-box"  buildings,  each  accom- 
modating a  dozen  classes  pursuing  the  usual  book  studies, 
a  playground,  with  little  or  no  equipment,  perhaps  a 
basement  room  for  manual  training,  a  laboratory,  and  a 
cooking  room  for  the  girls.  Had  Gary  played  safe,  this 
is  the  sort  of  school  and  school  equipment  that  it  would 
now  possess.  Provided  with  this  conventional  school 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

system,  the  town  would  have  led  a  conventional  school 
life — quiet,  unoffending,  and  negatively  happy — doing 
as  many  others  do,  doing  it  about  as  well  as  they  do  it 
and  satisfied  to  do  just  that. 

As  contrasted  with  education  of  this  meager  type,  the 
Gary  plan  is  distinguished  by  two  features,  intimately 
connected  with  each  other: 

First — the  enrichment  and  diversification  of  the 
curriculum; 

Second — the  administrative  device  that,  for  want  of  a 
better  name,  will  be  tentatively  termed  the  duplicate 
school  organization. 

These  two  features  must  first  be  considered  in  general 
terms,  if  the  reader  is  to  understand  the  detailed  descrip- 
tion and  discussion. 

!  As  to  the  curriculum  and  school  activities.  While 
the  practice  of  education  has  in  large  part  continued 
to  follow  traditional  paths,  the  progressive  literature  of 
the  subject  has  abounded  in  constructive  suggestions 
of  far-reaching  practical  significance.  Social,  political, 
and  industrial  changes  have  forced  upon  the  school 
responsibilities  formerly  laid  upon  the  home.  Once  the 
school  had  mainly  to  teach  the  elements  of  knowledge; 
now  the  school  is  charged  with  the  physical,  mental,  and 
social  training  of  the  child.  To  meet  these  needs  a 
changed  and  enriched  curriculum,  including  community 
activities,  facilities  for  recreation,  shop  work,  and  house- 
hold arts,  has  been  urged  on  the  content  side  of  school 
work;  the  transformation  of  school  aims  and  discipline 


x  INTRODUCTION 

on  the  basis  of  modern  psychology,  ethics,  and  social 
philosophy  has  been  for  similar  reasons  recommended  on 
the  side  of  attitude  and  method. 

These  things  have  been  in  the  air.  Every  one  of  them 
has  been  tried  and  is  being  practised  in  some  form  or 
other,  somewhere  or  other.  In  probably  every  large 
city  in  the  country  efforts  have  been  made,  especially  in 
the  more  recent  school  plants,  to  develop  some  of  the 
features  above  mentioned.  There  has  been  a  distinct, 
unmistakable,  and  general  trend  toward  making  the 
school  a  place  where  children  "live"  as  well  as  "learn." 
This  movement  did  not  originate  at  Gary;  nor  is  Gary  its 
only  evidence.  It  is  none  the  less  true  that  perhaps  no- 
where else  have  the  schools  so  deliberately  and  explicitly 
avowed  this  modern  policy.  The  Gary  schools  are  offi- 
cially described  as  "work,  study,  and  play"  schools- 
schools,  that  is,  that  try  to  respond  adequately  to  a  many- 
sided  responsibility;  how  far  and  with  what  success,  the 
successive  reports  of  the  Gary  survey  will  show. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  enriched 
curriculum  was  applied  in  its  present  form  at  the  out- 
set or  that  it  is  equally  well  developed  in  all  the  Gary 
schools.  Far  from  it.  There  has  been  a  distinct  and 
uneven  process  of  development  at  Gary;  sometimes,  as 
subsequent  chapters  will  show,  such  rapid  and  unstable 
development  that  our  account  may  in  certain  respects 
be  obsolete  before  it  is  printed.  When  the  Emerson 
school  was  opened  in  1909,  the  equipment  in  laboratories, 
shops,  and  museums,  while  doubtless  superior  to  what 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

was  offered  by  other  towns  of  the  Gary  type,  could  have 
been  matched  by  what  was  to  be  found  in  many  of  the 
better  favored  larger  towns  and  cities  at  the  same  period. 
The  gymnasium,  for  example,  was  not  more  than  one 
third  its  present  size;  the  industrial  work  was  not  un- 
precedented in  kind  or  extent;  the  boys  had  woodwork, 
the  girls  cooking  and  sewing.  But  progress  was  rapid: 
painting  and  printing  were  added  in  1911;  the  foundry, 
forge,  and  machine  shop  in  1913.  The  opportunities 
for  girls  were  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  the  cafeteria  in 
1913.  The  auditorium  reached  its  present  extended  use 
as  recently  as  the  school  year  1913-14.  The  Froebel 
school,  first  occupied  in  the  fall  of  1912,  started  with 
facilities  similar  to  those  previously  introduced  piecemeal 
into  the  Emerson. 

These  facilities,  covering  in  their  development  a  period 
of  years,  represent  the  effort  to  create  an  elementary 
school  more  nearly  adequate  to  the  needs  of  modern 
urban  life.  The  curriculum  is  enriched  by  various  ac- 
tivities in  the  fields  of  industry,  science,  and  recreation. 
Questions  as  to  the  efficiency  with  which  these  varied 
activities  have  been  administered  will  be  discussed  by 
the  various  contributors  to  the  present  study.  Mean- 
while, it  is  perhaps  only  fair  to  point  out  that  the  modern 
movement  calls  not  only  for  additions  to,  but  elimina- 
tions  from,  the  curriculum  and  for  a  critical  attitude 
toward  the  products  of  classroom  teaching.  How  far,  on 
the  academic  side,  the  Gary  schools  reflect  this  aspect 
of  the  modern  movement  will  also  presently  appear. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

The  administrative  device — the  "duplicate"  organiza- 
tion, noted  above  as  the  second  characteristic  feature  of 
the  Gary  plan — stands  on  a  somewhat  different  footing, 
as  the  following  considerations  make  plain. 

Once  more,  Mr.  Wirt  was  not  the  inventor  of  the  in- 
tensive use  of  school  buildings,  though  he  was  among  the 
first — if  not  the  very  first — to  perceive  the  purely  educa- 
tional advantage  to  which  the  situation  could  be  turned. 
The  rapidity  with  which  American  cities  have  grown  has 
created  a  difficult  problem  for  school  administrators — 
the  problem  of  providing  space  and  instruction  for  chil- 
dren who  increase  in  number  faster  than  buildings  are 
constructed.  The  problem  has  been  handled  in  various 
ways.  In  one  place,  the  regular  school  day  has  been 
shortened  and  two  different  sets  of  children  attending  at 
different  hours  have  been  taught  daily  in  one  building 
and  by  one  group  of  teachers.  Elsewhere,  as  in  certain 
high  schools,  a  complete  double  session  has  been  con- 
ducted. The  use  of  one  set  of  schoolrooms  for  more  than 
one  set  of  children  each  day  did  not  therefore  originate 
at  Gary. 

Another  point  needs  to  be  considered  before  we  discuss 
the  so-called  duplicate  feature  of  the  Gary  plan.  In 
American  colleges,  subjects  have  commonly  been  taught 
by  specialists,  not  by  class  teachers.  The  work  is  "de- 
partmentalized"— to  use  the  technical  term.  There  is 
a  teacher  of  Latin,  a  teacher  of  mathematics,  a  teacher 
of  physics,  who  together  instruct  every  class — not  a 
separate  teacher  of  each  class  in  all  subjects.  Latterly, 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

departmentalization  has  spread  from  the  college  into 
the  high  school,  until  nowadays  well  organized  high 
schools  and  the  upper  grades  of  elementary  schools  are 
quite  generally  " departmentalized,"  i.e.,  organized  with 
special  teachers  for  the  several  subjects,  rather  than 
with  one  teacher  for  each  grade. 

Out  of  these  two  elements,  Gary  has  evolved  an  admin- 
istrative device,  the  so-called  duplicate  school,  which, 
from  the  standpoint  of  its  present  educational  signifi- 
cance, does  indeed  represent  a  definite  innovation. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness,  it  will  be  well  to  explain  the 
theory  of  the  duplicate  school  by  a  simplified  imaginary 
example : 

Let  us  suppose  that  elementary  school  facilities  have 
to  be  provided  for,  say,  1,600  children.  If  each  class  is 
to  contain  a  maximum  of  40  children,  a  schoolhouse  of 
40  rooms  would  formerly  have  been  built,  with  perhaps 
a  few  additional  rooms,  little  used,  for  special  activities; 
except  during  the  recess  (12  to  1:30)  each  recitation 
room  would  be  in  practically  continuous  use  in  the  old- 
line  subjects  from  9  to  3  30,  when  school  is  adjourned  till 
next  morning.  A  school  plant  of  this  kind  may  be 
represented  by  Figure  I,  each  square  representing  a 
schoolroom. 

The  "duplicate"  school  proposes  a  different  solution. 
Instead  of  providing  40  classrooms  for  40  classes,  it 
requires  20  classrooms,  capable  of  holding  800  children; 
and  further,  playgrounds,  laboratories,  shops,  gardens, 
gymnasium;  and  auditorium,  also  capable  of  holding 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


800  children.  If,  now,  800  children  use  the  classrooms 
while  800  are  using  the  other  facilities,  morning  and  after- 
noon, the  entire  plant  accommodates  1,600  pupils 
throughout  the  school  day;  and  the  curriculum  is  greatly 
enriched,  since,  without  taking  away  anything  from  their 
classroom  work,  they  are  getting  other  branches  also.  A 
school  thus  equipped  and  organized  may  be  represented 

FIGURE  I 
REPRESENTS  OLD-FASHIONED  SCHOOLHOUSE 

40  rooms  for  40  classes,  of  40  children  each,  i.  e.,  facilities  for  the  academic  instruc- 
tion of  1,600  children.  A  school  yard  and  an  extra  room  or  two,  little  used,  for  special 
activities,  are  also  usually  found. 


by  Figure  II,  in  which  A  represents  20  classes  taking 
care  of  40  children  each  (800  children) ,  and  B  represents 
special  facilities  taking  care  of  800  children.  As  A 
and  B  are  in  simultaneous  operation,  1,600  children  are 
cared  for. 

This  method  of  visualizing  the  "duplicate"  school 
serves  to  correct  a  common  misconception.  The  plan 
aims  to  intensify  the  use  of  schoolrooms;  yet  it  would  be 


INTRODUCTION 


xv 


incorrect  to  say  that  20  classrooms,  instead  of  40, 
as  under  the  old  plan,  accommodate  1,600  children. 
For  while  the  number  of  classrooms  has  been  reduced 
from  40  to  20,  special  facilities  of  equal  capacity  have 
been  added  in  the  form  of  auditorium,  shops,  play- 
ground, etc.  The  20  classrooms  apparently  saved 

FIGURE  II 

REPRESENTS  THE  GARY  EQUIPMENT 
A  B 

20  classrooms  for  academic  instruction  Special  facilities,  taking  care  of  Soochil- 

of  20  classes  of  40  children  each  (800  chil-  dren  in  the  morning  hours  and  an  equal 
dren)  in  the  morning  hours  and  an  equal  number  in  the  afternoon  hours  (1,600  in  ail 
number  in  the  afternoon  (1,600  in  all  daily)  daily) 


Auditorium 

Shops 

Laboratories 

Playground,  gardens, 
gymnasium  and  library 

have  been  replaced  by  special  facilities  of  one  kind  or 
another.  The  so-called  duplicate  organization  and 
the  longer  school  day  make  it  possible  to  give  larger 
facilities  to  twice  as  many  children  as  the  classrooms  alone 
would  accommodate.  The  duplicate  school,  as  devel- 
oped at  Gary,  is  not  therefore  a  device  to  relieve  conges- 
tion or  to  reduce  expense,  but  the  natural  result  of 
efforts  to  provide  a  richer  school  life  for  all  children. 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

The  enriched  curriculum  and  the  duplicate  organ- 
ization support  each  other.  The  social  situation  re- 
quires a  scheme  of  education  fairly  adequate  to  the 
entire  scope  of  the  child's  activities  and  possibilities; 
this  cannot  be  achieved  without  a  longer  school  day  and 
a  more  varied  school  equipment.  The  duplicate  school 
endeavors  to  give  the  longer  day,  the  richer  curriculum, 
and  the  more  varied  activities  with  the  lowest  possible 
investment  in,  and  the  most  intensive  use  of,  the  school 
plant.  The  so-called  duplicate  school  is  thus  a  single 
school  with  two  different  types  of  facilities  in  more  or  less 
constant  and  simultaneous  operation,  morning  and 
afternoon. 

Such  is  the  Gary  plan  in  conception.  What  about  the 
execution?  Is  it  realized  at  Gary?  Does  it  work? 
What  is  involved  as  respects  space,  investment,  etc., 
when  ordinary  classrooms  are  replaced  by  shops,  play- 
grounds, and  laboratories?  Can  a  given  equipment  in 
the  way  of  auditorium,  shops,  etc.,  handle  precisely 
the  same  number  of  children  accommodated  in  the  class- 
rooms without  doing  violence  to  their  educational  needs 
on  the  one  hand,  and  without  waste  through  temporary 
disuse  of  the  special  facilities,  on  the  other?  To  what 
extent  has  Gary  modified  or  reorganized  on  modern  lines 
the  treatment  of  the  common  classroom  subjects?  How 
efficient  is  instruction  in  the  usual  academic  studies  as 
well  as  in  the  newer  or  so-called  modern  subjects  and 
activities?  Is  the  plan  economical  in  the  sense  that 
equal  educational  advantages  cannot  be  procured  by 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

any  other  scheme  except  at  greater  cost?  These  and 
other  questions  as  to  the  execution  of  the  Gary  plan  are, 
as  far  as  data  were  obtainable,  discussed  in  the  separate 
volumes  making  up  the  present  survey. 

The  concrete  questions  above  mentioned  do  not,  how- 
ever, exhaust  the  educational  values  of  a  given  school 
situation.  From  every  school  system  there  come  im- 
ponderable products,  bad  as  well  as  good.  Aside  from 
all  else,  many  observers  of  the  Gary  schools  report  one 
such  imponderable  in  the  form  of  a  spiritual  something 
which  can  hardly  be  included  in  a  study  of  administra- 
tion and  eludes  the  testing  of  classroom  work.  These 
observers  have  no  way  of  knowing  whether  Gary  school 
costs  are  high  or  low;  whether  the  pupils  spell  and  add  as 
well  as  children  do  elsewhere;  but,  however  these  things 
may  be,  they  usually  describe  the  pupils  as  characterized 
Ly  self-possession,  resourcefulness,  and  happiness  to  an 
unusual  degree.  While  different  schools  and  indeed 
different  parts  of  the  same  school  vary  in  this  respect, 
the  members  of  the  survey  staff  agree  that,  on  the  whole, 
there  is  a  basis  of  fact  for  these  observations.  Gary  is 
thus  something  more  than  a  school  organization  charac- 
terized by  the  two  main  features  above  discussed. 

The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  Innovation  is  stimu- 
lating, just  as  conformity  is  deadening.  Experiment 
is  in  this  sense  a  thing  wholesome  in  itself.  Of  course 
it  must  be  held  to  strict  accountability  for  results;  and 
this  study  is  the  work  of  persons  who,  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  educational  progress,  are  at  the  same  time 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

solicitous  that  the  outcome  be  carefully  observed. 
The  fact  that  customary  school  procedure  does  not  rest 
upon  a  scientific  basis,  does  not  willingly  submit  itself 
to  thorough  scrutiny,  is  no  reason  for  exempting  educa- 
tional innovations  from  strict  accountability.  The  very 
reverse  is  indeed  true;  for  otherwise  innovation  may  im- 
peril or  sacrifice  essential  educational  values,  without 
actually  knowing  whether  or  not  it  has  achieved  definite 
values  of  its  own.  Faith  in  a  new  program  does  not 
absolve  the  reformer  from  a  watchful  and  critical  atti- 
tude toward  results.  Moreover,  if  the  innovator  for- 
mulates his  purposes  in  definite  terms  and  measures  his 
results  in  the  light  of  his  professed  aims,  the  conservative 
cannot  permanently  escape  the  same  process.  Gary,  like 
all  other  educational  experiments,  must  be  held  account- 
able in  this  fashion.  Subject  however  to  such  ac- 
countability, the  breaking  of  the  conventional  school 
framework,  the  introduction  of  new  subject  matter  or 
equipment,  even  administrative  reorganization,  at  Gary  as 
elsewhere,  tend  to  favor  a  fresher,  more  vigorous  interest 
and  spirit.  Defects  will  in  the  following  pages  be  pointed 
out  in  the  Gary  schools — defects  of  organization,  of  ad- 
ministration, of  instruction.  But  there  is  for  the  reasons 
just  suggested  something  in  the  Gary  schools  over  and 
above  the  Gary  plan.  Problems  abound,  as  in  every 
living  and  developing  situation.  But  the  problems 
are  the  problems  of  life,  and,  as  such,  are  in  the  long 
run  perhaps  more  hopeful  than  the  relatively  smooth 
functioning  of  a  stationary  school  system.  Thus,  not- 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

withstanding  the  defects  and  shortcomings  which  this 
study  will  candidly  point  out,  the  experiment  at  Gary 
rightly  observed  and  interpreted  is  both  interesting  and 
stimulating. 


\ 


I.    AIM  OF  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  WORK 

In  Professor  Richards'  report1  it  is  pointed  out  that 
the  industrial  work  for  boys  is  not  vocational  in  aim. 
Shop  activities  are  not  meant  to  make  carpenters,  paint- 
ers and  plumbers,  but  to  furnish  growing  boys  with  op- 
portunities for  the  development  of  senses  and  muscles 
and  concrete  experiences  which  will  enable  them  to  par- 
ticipate intelligently  in  a  social  order  in  which  industry 
bulks  large.  Fundamentally,  the  same  principle  holds 
of  the  work  in  the  household  arts  for  girls;  that  is,  it  is 
not  primarily  intended  to  train  expert  seamstresses  or 
expert  cooks.  Still,  instruction  in  cooking  and  sewing  is 
not  on  precisely  the  same  footing  as  instruction  in 
foundry  work  or  carpentering;  for,  in  addition  to  general 
educative  value,  the  household  arts  have  for  girls  greater 
personal  value  and  a  more  intimate  social  bearing  than 
has  shop  work  for  boys. 

Besides  stenography  and  typewriting,  the  Gary  schools 
provide  instruction  for  girls  in  printing,  gardening,  cook- 
ing, and  sewing.  The  present  report  deals  only  with 
cooking  and  sewing.2 

1  See  report  on  Industrial  Work. 

2  For  printing,  see  report  on  Industrial  Work,  and  for  gardening,  see 
report  on  Science  Teaching. 


A.    COOKING 


II.    TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT 

COOKING  is  taught  regularly  in  the  elementary 
schools  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  with 
pupils  from  the  lower  grades  acting  as  helpers. 
The  instruction  is  condensed  into  courses  from  ten  to 
thirteen  weeks  in  length,  one  or  two  hours  daily.  Pupils 
must  enroll  for  at  least  one  course  one  hour  daily,  and 
may  take  more.  While  cooking  is  thus  compulsory  for 
elementary  pupils,  it  is  optional  for  high  school  girls, 
and  may  be  elected  by  them  in  the  ninth,  tenth,  eleventh, 
and  twelfth  grades,  at  the  Emerson  and  Froebel  schools, 
which  alone  have  high  school  students.  During  the 
first  term,  1915-1916,441  elementary  school  pupils,  includ- 
ing helpers,  were  enrolled  in  cooking  classes,  and  during 
the  fourth,  280.1  (Tables  I,  III,  IV.) 

The  reports  from  Jefferson,  Glen  Park,  and  Beveridge 
do  not  distinguish  between  helpers  and  those  regularly 
enrolled,  though  it  may  be  assumed  that  children  from 

lfrhe  greatest  care  has  been  exercised  in  preparing  the  enrollment  data 
for  cooking  and  sewing,  but  owing  to  the  frequent  change  of  classes  and 
changes  in  the  make-up  of  the  same  class,  and  to  differences  in  reports 
which  we  were  unable  to  reconcile,  we  are  not  satisfied  that  the  tables 
are  more  than  approximately  correct  either  as  to  numbers  or  grade  distri- 
bution. 


4  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

the  third  to  the  sixth  grades  are  helpers,  rather  than 
students  (Table  I).  At  Glen  Park,  of  the  78  pupils 
enrolled,  42  took  cooking  one  hour  a  day  and  36  for  two 
hours  daily  from  September  to  December,  and  all  took 
one  hour  per  day  from  December  to  April.  At  Beve- 
ridge,  pupils  continued  in  cooking  one  hour  per  day 
throughout  the  year.  This  is  a  considerable  amount  of 
time  for  elementary  grades.  It  occurred,  however,  not 
because  it  was  considered  wise  to  stress  household  arts, 
but  because  of  a  shortage  of  teachers  in  other  depart- 
ments of  special  work. 

Comparatively  few  high  school  students  elect  cooking. 
Emerson,  for  example,  enrolled  during  191 5- 1916  a  total 
of  only  32  for  thirteen  weeks,  and  Froebel,  57  for  ten 
weeks  (Table  II).  They  belong  chiefly  to  the  first 
two  high  school  years ;  no  junior  or  senior  elected  cooking 
at  Froebel,  and  but  two  seniors  and  one  junior  at 
Emerson.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  many  high 
schools  do  not  provide  household  arts. 

The  classes  in  cooking  are  always  small,  never  con- 
taining over  twenty  and  averaging  from  twelve  to  fifteen. 
This  would  be  admirable,  if  the  group  were  homogeneous; 
unfortunately,  a  class  in  cooking  is  seldom  made  up  of 
pupils  from  one  grade  or  from  closely  related  grades. 
Not  infrequently  a  class  comprises  pupils  from  the  third 
to  the  ninth  grades.  To  be  sure,  the  younger  children 
are  supposed  to'assist  the  older;  nevertheless,  their  pres- 
ence renders  difficult  the  concentration  of  attention  upon 
the  needs  of  the  regular  pupils. 


TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT 


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THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


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8  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

The  time  allowance  for  cooking  is  unusually  liberal. 
On  the  basis  of  two  hours  per  day  for  five  days  a  week  for 
13  weeks,  130  hours  are  offered  as  compared  with  two 
hours  per  week  for  40  weeks  or  80  hours  in  the  average 
school  system.  This  number  of  hours  added  to  a  like 
number  of  hours  in  sewing  shows  that  260  hours  may  be 
devoted  to  household  arts  in  a  year.  On  the  basis  of  the 
minimum  of  ten  weeks'  cooking  for  one  hour  per  day 
and  the  same  for  sewing,  100  hours  are  scheduled  for 
these  subjects. 

But  the  allowance  does  not  work  out  in  practice.  The 
groups  are  in  continuous  flux.  Pupils  are  withdrawn 
in  the  course  of  a  term;  new  pupils  are  admitted  irreg- 
ularly. There  is  no  record  of  the  make-up  of  the  group 
or  of  the  specific  tasks  accomplished.  The  method  of 
grading,  that  is,  dividing  the  grade  into  A,  B,  C  sections, 
and  the  change  of  classes  at  the  end  of  each  ten  or 
thirteen  week  period  also  add  to  the  confusion. 

While  records  show  the  number  of  girls  enrolled  in 
cooking  classes,  it  is  impossible  to  say  precisely  how  much 
instruction  and  experience  they  have  had,  inasmuch  as 
term  lengths  are  not  uniform  in  the  different  schools 
and  as  the  periods  are  sometimes  one  hour  and  some- 
times two.  Thus,  for  example,  eighth  grade  pupils  at 
Emerson  had  one  hour  of  cooking  daily  in  the  first 
term  of  1915-1916,  while  those  who  took  cooking  in 
the  second  term  had  twice  as  much  (Table  III).  At 
Froebel,  on  the  other  hand,  the  eighth  grade  pupils  were 
enrolled  for  two  hours  during  the  first  and  second  terms, 


TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT 


R     O 


T         ^ 

pQ       Q 

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Enrol 
as  Hel 


t£    - 


Enrol 
as  Hel 


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10 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


TABLE  IV 

ENROLLMENT  IN  ELEMENTARY  COOKING  CLASSES, 
1915-1916:  FROEBEL 

FIRST  TEN  WEEKS 


GRADE 

No.  of 
Pupils 
Enrolled 

Regularly  Enrolled 

Enrolled  as  Helpers 

Ihr. 

2  hrs. 

Ihr. 

2  hrs. 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

10 
39 
7 
11 
12 

33 
11 

12 

6 
6 

7 

4 

Total 

79 

44 

12 

19 

4 

SECOND  TEN  WEEKS 


4 

12 

12 

5 

26 

26 

6 

7 

8 

11 

11 

Total 

49 

12 

11 

26 

THIRD  TEN  WEEKS 

3 

4 

8 

8 

5 

26 

26 

6 

28 

15 

13 

7 

8 

7 

7 

Total 

69 

7 

15 

47 

FOURTH  TEN  WEEKS 


3 

4 

23 

6 

17 

5 

19 

19 

6 

4 

4 

7 

17 

13 

4 

8 

2 

2 

Total 

65 

21 

4 

40 

TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT         n 

but  in  the  other  terms  for  a  single  period  (Table  IV). 
Again,  the  helper  system  extends  at  Emerson  as  low  as 
the  third  grade,  but  at  Froebel  not  below  the  fourth. 
The  variation  in  hours  for  regular  cooking  pupils  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  additional  time  beyond  one  hour  is 
optional.  Helpers,  however,  generally  speaking,  have 
no  choice.  They  are  allotted  either  to  cooking  or  sewing 
as  the  program  is  worked  out,  in  the  making  of  which 
teachers,  pupils,  and  resources  are  considered. 


III.    THE  CAFETERIA 

THE  work  in  cooking  centers  about  the  school 
luncheon.     Many  of  the  children  go  home  at 
the  noon  recess ;  many  get  their  entire  luncheon 
at  school,  while  others  bring  a  luncheon  from  home, 
supplementing  it  with  hot  soup,  cocoa,  or  dessert.    The 
lunch  rooms  are  open  from  11:15  to  1:15.   During  1915- 
1916  Emerson  served  44,582  persons,  including  teachers 
and  guests;  Froebel,  17,842;  and  Jefferson,  7,889. 

The  cafeterias  in  the  newer  school  buildings  are  well 
equipped;  those  in  the  older  buildings  have  been  arranged 
as  conveniently  as  possible.  At  Emerson  there  is  a  large 
kitchen  and  separate  dining  room,  tastefully  decorated 
by  the  art  students.  The  kitchen  is  equipped  with  a 
hotel  size  range,  steam  table,  continuous  cooking  tables 
with  individual  gas  plates,  and  storage  place  for  uten- 
sils in  drawers  and  small  cupboards;  a  refrigerator, 
wall  closets  and  a  supply  room,  and  serving  counters. 
The  dining  room  is  furnished  with  substantial  oak  chairs 
and  tables;  cutlery  and  china  are  provided  in  restaurant 
quantities. 

The  quality  of  the  food  supplied  is  good,  and  the  prices 
are  reasonable,  as  shown  by  the  schedule  at  Emerson  for 
September: 

12 


THE  CAFETERIA 


Vegetable  soup  .  .  .04 
Noodle  soup  .  .  .  .04 

Bean  soup 04 

Corn  chowder   .      .      .      .04 

Cold  meat 05 

Baked  beef  hash,  Span- 
ish sauce 05 

Leg  of  veal 07 

Braised  potatoes  .  .  .03 
Mashed  potatoes  .  .  .03 
Glazed  sweet  potatoes  .  03 

Cabbage 03 

Stuffed  tomatoes    .     .      .05 

Sweet  corn 03 

Stuffed  sweet  peppers  .  .03 
Ham  sandwich  .  .  .  .03 
Peanut  butter  sandwich  .  03 
Cabbage  and  cucumber 

salad 

Orange  and  grape  salad 
Grape  and  nut  salad     . 


•05 
,07 
,07 


Fruit  salad 05 

Peach  tapioca  .  .  .  .03 
Apple  dumpling,  sauce  .03 
Chocolate  pudding  .  .  03 
Apple  sauce  .  .  .  .03 
Scalloped  apple,  cinna- 
mon sauce  .  .  .  .03 
Orange  float  .  .  .  .03 

Punch 03 

Grape  punch     .     .     .     .03 
Baked  apple      .      .      .      .02 

Ice  cream 05 

Apple 03 

Banana 03 

Cake 03 

Hot  bread 02 

Hot  rolls      .     .     .     .      .02 

Lemonade 03 

Coffee 05 

Cocoa 03 


The  average  lunch  charge  per  person  was,  at  Emerson, 
13.90.;  at  Froebel,  14.20.;  and  at  Jefferson,  150. 

At  Froebel  the  lunches  are  cooked  and  served  in  one 
room,  although  there  is  a  small  alcove  for  the  teachers 
and  guests.  The  equipment  is  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter as  that  of  the  Emerson,  though  neither  so  extensive 
nor  so  complete.  Its  present  inventory  value  is  $750. 

Jefferson  shows  what  can  be  done  on  an  extremely 
modest  scale.  A  basement  room,  not  originally  con- 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


structed  as  a  cooking  laboratory,  has  been  partitioned 
off  and  painted  white,  one  side  serving  as  the  kitchen,  the 
other  as  the  lunch  room.  A  similar  use  is  made  of  ordi- 
nary basement  rooms  at  Beveridge  and  Glen  Park. 

The  entire  operating  expenses  of  the  cooking  depart- 
ments, with  the  exception  of  fuel  and  the  salaries  of  the 
instructors  at  Emerson  and  Froebel  and  half  the  salary 
of  the  teacher  at  Jefferson,  are  met  from  the  proceeds  of 

TABLE  V 
'f  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  EMERSON  CAFETERIA,  1915-1916 


NUMBER 
SERVED 

RECEIPTS 

DISBURSE- 
MENTS 

PROFITS 

September   

3,958 

$  465.32 

$    410.62 

$   54.70 

October            

4,127 

547.08 

499.62 

47.46 

November  

3,869 

540.64 

508.64 

32.00 

December 

4255 

62381 

573.45 

50.36 

January 

4998 

70524 

674.49 

30.75 

February                .         •    . 

5,080 

739.40 

693.68 

45.72 

March                    

4,738 

730.28 

721.70 

8.58 

April   .      .             

3,711 

604.04 

576.25 

27.79 

May.  . 

4,851 

653.13 

632.00 

21.13 

::    y  
1  une  

4,995 

602.81 

519.24 

83.57 

Total 

44,582 

$6,211.75 

$5,809.69 

$402.06 

the  cafeteria.  An  examination  of  the  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements, as  submitted  by  the  Gary  authorities,  at 
Emerson,  Froebel,  and  Jefferson  is  interesting  as  bearing 
on  the  question  of  financing  such  departments. 

The  total  receipts  at  Emerson  for  1915-1916  were 
$6,211  and  the  disbursements  $5,809,  leaving  a  net 
profit  of  $402  (Table  V).  These  disbursements  in- 
clude, however,  not  only  the  cost  of  food,  but  also  the 


THE  CAFETERIA 


salaries  of  two  adult  helpers  at  a  monthly  wage  of  $65 
and  $40  respectively,  who  assist  in  preparing  the  lunches 
and  do  most  of  the  rough  work.  It  also  includes  pay 
for  a  pupil  cashier,  and  for  pupils  who  assist  in  serving 
and  in  washing  dishes. 

While  the  Froebel  cafeteria  shows  a  net  profit  of  only 
$22.63  (Table  VI),  the  actual  profit  was  in  excess  of  this, 
for  the  disbursements  include  not  only  the  pay  of  the 

TABLE  VI 

FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  FROEBEL  CAFETERIA,  1915-1916 


NUMBER 
SERVED 

RECEIPTS 

DISBURSE- 
MENTS 

PROFITS 

September 

1787 

$21550 

$   14894 

$   6656 

October  

1,943 

268.81 

232.76 

36.05 

November  

1,677 

238.82 

24780 

—898 

December  

1,184 

171.29 

172.69 

—140 

January  

February 

2,018 
2035 

250.48 
28490 

232.57 
20722 

17.91 
7768 

JVIarch 

1938 

27125 

311  57 

-^032 

April 

1,353 

18939 

24336 

—5397 

JVtay 

2,162 

302.72 

33333 

—3061 

June 

1,745 

354.01 

39430 

—4029 

Total  , 

17,842 

$2,547.17 

$2,524.54 

$2263 

adult  helper  at  $60  per  month,  but  also  expenditures  for 
equipment  amounting  to  $150. 

Jefferson  makes  the  best  showing  of  all,  for  even  after 
paying  half  the  salary  of  the  instructor  and  an  assistant 
for  two  hours  a  day  at  $10  per  month,  there  remained  a 
net  profit  for  the  year  of  $453.30  (Table  VII).  In  all 
instances  it  is  the  policy  of  the  school  authorities  to  use 
the  surplus  for  the  benefit  of  the  pupils  either  in  adding 


i6 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


to  the  teaching  staff  or  in  improving  the  equipment.  An 
accumulation  of  profits  is  not  permitted. 
.  The  financial  experience  of  Emerson,  Froebel,  and 
Jefferson  demonstrates  that  cooking  departments  offer- 
ing limited  opportunities  may  be  operated,  after  the 
original  capital  outlay,  without  cost  to  the  system  other 
than  the  salaries  of  professionally  trained  teachers,  and 
may  even  be  made  to  pay  a  part  of  this  expense. 

TABLE  VII 
FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  JEFFERSON  CAFETERIA,  1915-1916 


NUMBER 
SERVED 

RECEIPTS 

DISBURSE- 
MENTS 

PROFITS 

September 

417 

$     5715 

$     59  12 

$—197 

October 

886 

143.95 

8997 

5398 

November              .  . 

649 

71.23 

40.58 

3065 

December.    .         

877 

115.65 

62.68 

5297 

January.  . 

970 

112.45 

50.13 

62.32 

February  

520 

126.47 

88.00 

38.47 

March  
April 

1,099 
595 

191.13 
86.69 

146.27 
6463 

44.86 
2206 

]May 

959 

153.31 

7631 

7700 

June 

917 

125.69 

52.73 

7296 

Total  

7,889 

$1,183.72 

$730.42 

$453.30 

IV.    STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION 

THE  teachers  fall  into  three  groups.    Emerson, 
Froebel,  and  Jeff  erson  have  professionally  trained 
instructors  from   the   University   of   Chicago, 
from  Cornell  University,  and  from  Valparaiso  University. 
Their  salaries  are  $1,000,  $750  and  $600  respectively. 
At  Glen  Park  a   regular   teacher  with   slight    special 
preparation  conducts  the  work,  and  at  Beveridge  a  prac- 
tical housekeeper,  with  no  professional  training,  is  in 
charge.    Practical  housekeepers  receive  from  $40  to  $65 
a  month. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  definitely  the  content  of 
the  cooking  instruction  in  either  the  elementary  schools 
or  the  high  schools,  since  there  is  no  systematic  course 
of  study  for  either  all  schools  or  any  one  school.  More- 
over, the  year  of  the  survey  chanced  to  be  one  of  unusual 
disorganization.  The  teacher  at  the  Froebel  school 
had  been  in  the  system  only  since  September  and  was 
preparing  to  leave,  as  was  also  the  instructor  at  Emer- 
son. Teachers  changed  at  Jefferson  during  the  spring, 
and  at  Glen  Park  all  cooking  gave  way  in  April  to 
gardening,  while  at  Beveridge  nothing  more  than  the 
preparation  of  the  school  luncheon  has  ever  been  at- 
tempted. However,  effort  was  being  made,  at  least 

17 


i8       THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

at  the  Emerson,  Froebel,  Jefferson,  and  Glen  Park 
schools,  to  meet  the  minimum  elementary,  and  at  Emer- 
son and  Froebel  the  minimum  high  school,  requirements 
of  the  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction.1  Be- 
yond these  minimum  requirements,  each  teacher  was  free 
to  plan  and  to  execute  such  daily  tasks  as  in  her  judg- 
ment were  calculated  to  meet  local  and  individual  needs. 

As  has  already  been  stated,  the  preparation  of  food  for 
the  cafeteria  forms  the  basis  of  the  Gary  work  whether 
of  elementary  or  high  school  grade.  There  are  no  cook- 
ing laboratories  or  facilities  other  than  the  kitchens 
and  utensils  employed  in  the  preparation  of  the  noon 
luncheon.  The  same  equipment  is  used  by  both  ele- 
mentary and  high  school  students  and  the  same  in- 
structor directs  both  groups.  The  children  help  to  pre- 
pare the  food,  set  the  tables,  and  do  the  serving,  the 
older  pupils  being  held  for  the  more  responsible  tasks. 

Under  these  conditions,  the  content  of  the  cooking 
instruction  can  be  best  inferred  from  typical  menus: 

MONDAY  TUESDAY 

Cream  of  tomato  soup  Roast  pork 

Boiled  ham  Sweet  potatoes 

Baked  potatoes  Stewed  tomatoes 

Tuna  fish  salad  Cabbage  salad 

Tomato  salad  Brown  betty 

Cup  cake  Chocolate  cream 
Peach  dumplings 


l"  Domestic  Science  must  be  taught  to  the  "girls  of  the  7th  and  8th 
grades  .  .  .  two  regular  recitation  periods  per  week." 

"High  Schools  must  provide  at  least  one  full  year's  work."  ( Bulletin 
No.  17,  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  p.  214.)  ; 


.s 

\±4 

a 


.     STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION  19 

WEDNESDAY  THURSDAY 

Lima  bean  soup  Hot  roast  beef  sandwiches 

Roast  beef  Scalloped  meat 

Boiled  potatoes  Steamed  cabbage 

Banana  salad  Ham  sandwich 

Washington  pie  Orange  salad 

Stewed  prunes  Marble  cake 

Steamed  pudding 
Lemon  cookies 

It  is  possible  to  cover  the  field  by  means  of  such 
varied  menus  quite  as  thoroughly  as  by  means  of  defi- 
nitely organized  courses,  provided  the  teacher  keeps  track 
of  what  the  pupils  have  done  and  what  remains  for  them 
to  do.  Unfortunately,  however,  except  in  one  school 
there  were  no  such  records,  so  that  between  the  absence 
of  records  and  the  frequent  change  of  teachers,  there  was 
danger  of  repetition  without  progress. 

Unquestionably,  in  the  Emerson  school,  where 
individual  records  were  found,  the  pupils  were  getting 
broader  and  more  adequate  instruction  than  elsewhere,  as 
is  apparent  from  the  schedule  given  on  the  following  page. 

This  schedule  shows  that  the  instructor  responsible 
for  the  schedule  had  a  plan  underlying  her  work.  Note, 
for  example,  the  soup  column.  The  making  of  cream 
soup  of  various  kinds  was  driven  into  a  girPs  under- 
standing by  repetition  and  yet  the  monotony  was 
relieved  by  varying  the  kind  of  cream  soup.  By  tabu- 
lating what  the  pupils  had  done,  the  teacher  had  a  record 
of  accomplishment  to  guide  herself  and  her  successor. 


20  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


- 


3.S 


ilJli! 

° 


STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION  21 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  only  one  girl  made 
bread.  Obviously  an  instructor  following  the  one  in 
charge,  or  the  present  instructor  herself,  should  immedi- 
ately endeavor  to  give  drill  in  breadmaking  and  in- 
creased drill  in  that  subject  to  those  who  have  had  little 
or  no  training  in  it. 

Children  who  attend  cooking  classes  at  the  Froebel 
and  Emerson  schools  are  urged  to  repeat  at  home  the 
work  performed  at  school.  Only  one  teacher,  however, 
attempted,  by  means  of  a  report  made  by  the  child  her- 
self, to  hold  children  accountable  for  effort  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  following  are  samples  of  reports  made  by  the 
pupils  themselves,  telling  what  they  have  done  at  home 
and  their  opinion  of  it: 

STUDENT  REPORT  OF  WORK  AT  HOME 

STUDENT  DISH  MADE  SUCCESS  AS 

JUDGED  BY  PUPIL 

"A"        Chocolate  pudding  Excellent 
Boiled  rice  " 

Creamed  carrots  Good 
Cocoa 

Caramel  frosting 

JeUy  Fair 
Baked  tapioca  " 

"  B "      Boiled  frosting  ExceUent 

Cocoa  Fair 

Boiled  frosting  Excellent 

Cocoa  Good 


22  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

STUDENT  DISH  MADE  SUCCESS  AS 

JUDGED  BY  PUPIL 

"C"      Doughnuts  Excellent 
Jelly 

Rice  pudding  " 

Potatoes  in  half-shell        Good 
Jelly 

Creamed  carrots  Fine 

JeUy  Good 

Rice  pudding  Excellent 


V.   TESTS 

FOR  the  purpose  of  obtaining  objective  evidence 
as  to  what  the  Gary  method  accomplished,  prac- 
tical cooking  tests  were  given.  To  make  sure 
that  the  children  had  at  some  time  had  the  particular 
dishes  to  be  cooked  and  were  familiar  with  the  recipes, 
the  teachers  in  each  case  selected  the  test  dishes.  A 
sufficient  number  were  chosen  so  that  each  pupil  in  each 
test  group  might  have  an  individual  task,  and  in  each 
case  the  pupils  drew  lots  for  these.  The  numbers  in 
each  test  group,  it  will  be  noted,  are  small,  but  they 
include  all  the  cooking  pupils  in  both  Emerson  and 
Froebel  in  grades  8  to  12  inclusive. 

The  tests  and  the  results  were  as  follows: 

GROUP  A 

This  group  of  ten  ninth  grade  pupils  were  set  the 
following  dishes  to  cook  by  recipe: 

Hash  (made  from  cold  chops  and  cold  potatoes) 

Mashed  potatoes 

Tomato  and  cucumber  salad,  French  dressing 

Creamed  asparagus 

Cocoa  cake,  with  plain  frosting 

Banana  float 

23 


24  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

The  results,  when  expressed  in  common,  nontechnical 
terms  were: 

Hash:  Satisfactory,  though  nearly  an  hour  was  spent  in 
cutting  up  the  meat  and  potatoes. 

Mashed  potatoes:  Satisfactory. 

Tomato  and  cucumber  salad,  with  French  dressing:  Satis- 
factory. 

Creamed  asparagus:  Too  much  cream.  Pupil  did  not  con- 
sider the  quantity  of  asparagus  she  had.  She  knew  the 
principles  of  making  the  white  sauce,  but  did  not  reason. 

Cocoa  cake:  Satisfactory. 

Plain  frosting:  Satisfactory. 

Banana  float:  A  failure.  By  some  error  the  recipe  did 
not  specify  when  the  yolks  of  the  eggs  were  to  be  added. 

GROUP  B 

Group  B,  four  ninth  and  tenth  grade  pupils,  had  had 
practically  individual  attention  for  some  weeks.  They 
used  recipes,  and  all  their  dishes  came  out  well;  these 
were: 

Creamed  cabbage 
Mashed  potatoes 
Two-egg  plain  white , 
Tapioca  cream 

This  same  group  also  wrote  on  the  following  questions : 

1.  State  the  most  helpful  things  you  have  learned  in 
your  cooking  lessons. 

2.  In  what  ways  do  you  help  at  home? 


TESTS  25 

3.  How  many  ways  of  cooking  potatoes  do  you  know? 

4.  Why  do  we  need  food? 

In  answer  to  No.  i,  nearly  all  the  children  implied  they 
had  learned  to  be  tidy;  some  to  measure  correctly;  some 
to  bake.  There  was  no  attempt  to  enlarge  upon  their 
experience;  each  child  merely  stated  one  or  two  points. 

In  answer  to  No.  2,  all  the  children  reported  that  they 
assisted  at  home  in  washing  dishes  and  cooking. 

In  answer  to  No.  3,  it  appears  that  boiling,  frying,  and 
baking  are  the  three  favorite  ways  of  cooking  potatoes. 

In  answer  to  No.  4,  it  was  generally  stated  that  food 
builds  up  the  tissues,  gives  strength  and  warmth. 

GROUP  C 

Group  C,  composed  of  seven  ninth  grade  pupils, 
cooked  without  recipes.  The  dishes  and  the  results 
were  as  follows: 

Kidney  bean  salad:  Satisfactory. 

Strawberry  jelly:  Used  twice  as  much  gelatine  as  should 
have  been  used.  No  sugar  added. 

Oatmeal  cookies:  Not  enough  oatmeal  used.  By  an  unac- 
countable mistake  bay  leaf  was  added,  giving  a  very  strange 
flavor.  Yet  oatmeal  cookies  have  a  frequent  place  on  the 
cafeteria  menu. 

Plain  cake:  Satisfactory. 

GROUP  D 

This  group  of  ten  ninth  grade  pupils  took  a  written 
test  on  these  questions: 


26       THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

1.  For  what  needs  should  the  income  of  a  family  provide? 

2.  What  are  the  essentials  of  a  good  meal? 

3.  What  factors  should  determine  the  patronage  of  a 
market? 

4.  What  do  you  do  in  the  way  of  applying  your  domestic 
science  instruction  at  home? 

5.  What  are  the  main  classifications  of  food? 

6.  Why  is  dust  dangerous? 

7.  What  interest  has  a  home  maker  in  a  city  board  of 
health? 

8.  What  steps  would  you  take  to  lessen  the  waste  of 
food-stuffs? 

9.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  good  bread? 
10.    State  briefly  your  idea  of  a  well  run  home. 

The  answers  to  these  questions  showed  a  narrow  range 
of  knowledge  and  interest,  and  a  lack  of  understanding  of 
the  application  of  what  is  learned.  For  example,  to 
these  children  the  family  budget  (Question  i)  is  a  remote 
matter;  the  interest  of  a  home  maker  in  a  city  board  of 
health,  nominal;  the  ideal  of  a  well  run  home,  weakly 
formulated. 

GROUP  E 

This  group,  numbering  two  twelfth  grade  students, 
one  eleventh  grade  student,  and  one  tenth  grade  student, 
wrote  on  these  questions: 

1.  What  considerations  should  enter  into  the  selection  of 
a  home? 

2.  What  constitutes  good  buying? 

3.  What  elements  enter  into  the  cost  of  food? 


TESTS  27 

4.  What  kinds  of  food  should  an  anemic  person  eat? 
Why? 

5.  What  factors  affect  the  kinds  of  foods  needed? 

6.  What  influence  has  woman  as  a  consumer? 

7.  How  should  a  refrigerator  be  cared  for? 

8.  Give  a  recipe  for  bread. 

9.  Write  a  list  of  the  most  important  kitchen  utensils. 
10.  Describe  the  way  you  would  lay  the  table  for  break- 
fast. 

Answers  to  questions  2,  4,  7,  8,  9  and  10  evidence 
emphasis  on  technique  only.  Answers  to  i,  3,  5,  and  6 
show  a  grave  lack  of  general  understanding  of  anything 
but  definite  facts.  The  pupils  do  not  draw  on  their  per- 
sonal experience,  and  evidently  are  not  able  to  make 
deductions  properly  from  their  general  studies. 


VI.     MERITS  AND  DEFECTS 

riS  not  easy  to  pass  a  single  or  simple  verdict  on 
;he  instruction  in  cooking  at  Gary,  for  there  are 
.wo  sides  to  almost  every  one  of  its  characteristic 
features.  For  example,  the  introduction  of  household 
arts  into  the  lower  grades  through  the  helper  system 
revives  in  a  measure  the  wholesome  participation  of  the 
child  in  the  activities  of  the  home — an  order  now  all  too 
rapidly  passing  away.  But  the  helper  system  is  not  free 
from  dangers  and  drawbacks.  The  child's  interest  may 
be  deadened.  She  may  conceive  positive  dislike  for  the 
household  arts,  if  she  is  kept  at  the  same  routine  tasks 
for  prolonged  periods.  To  avoid  this,  helpers  should  be 
rotated  from  task  to  task — an  arrangement  which  does 
not  always  obtain  in  the  Gary  cafeteria. 

Again,  young  children  cannot  gain  unless  they  are 
helping  older  persons  who  really  understand  what  they 
are  engaged  in  doing.  Too  often  the  older  girls  do  not 
measure  up  to  this  standard.  The  instructors  labor 
therefore  at  a  threefold  task — they  guide  the  older  girls 
(their  main  educational  task),  keep  the  helpers  out  of 
mischief,,  and  must  have  the  school  luncheon  ready  at 
the  stroke  of  eleven.  Under  this  burden  the  capable 
instructor  becomes  discouraged;  the  weak  instructor 

28 


MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  29 

evades  her  full   responsibilities,  leaving  the  practical 
cook  to  prepare  the  important  dishes. 

So  also  the  cafeteria.  Much  is  to  be  said  in  its  favor. 
Pupils  learn  to  work  with  proper  regard  for  time,  to 
handle  quantities,  to  consider  money  values,  to  con- 
trive dietetic  combinations.  Thus  the  cafeteria  not 
only  supplies  the  school  lunch,  but  enlarges  the  scope 
of  school  work  in  cooking  and  gives  practical  point  to 
the  child's  effort  and  interest.  But  danger  lurks  in  the 
division  of  responsibility.  One  and  the  same  in- 
dividual at  one  and  the  same  time  teaches  cooking  and 
conducts  a  commercial  enterprise:  few  persons  are 
equally  interested  and  equally  effective  in  both  fields. 
When,  for  example,  the  instructor's  attention  inclines 
to  the  commercial  side,  the  scope  and  opportunity  of 
the  pupils  inevitably  suffer.  Little  or  no  risk  can  be 
taken  with  the  food,  for  the  quantities  are  large  and  the 
hour  approaches.  The  practical  cook  therefore  scarcely 
realizes  how  often  she  prompts  the  pupils  or  does  things 
for  them;  nor  does  the  teacher  realize  how  small  a  part 
of  the  responsibility  for  the  menu  is  borne  by  the  chil- 
dren. The  theory  is  sound  that  children  must  learn  to 
cook  by  cooking.  But  in  practice,  the  importance  of 
the  immediate  practical  interests  at  stake  seriously 
compromises  the  educational  view  point.  Occasionally, 
of  course,  a  girl  goes  about  her  tasks  with  assurance. 
At  Beveridge,  for  example,  a  child  serves  as  assistant 
manager;  she  does  her  own  work  and  is  capable  of  assist- 
ing her  classmates.  But  it  happens  that  this  particular 


30  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

child  has  considerable  responsibility  at  home  and  likes 
to  cook.  A  few  children  here  and  there  display  similar 
characteristics.  But,  in  the  main,  the  exigencies  of  the 
situation  tie  the  pupils  to  recipes — paid  helpers  and  in- 
structor constantly  aiding  even  when  recipes  are  followed. 
So  wedded  are  the  pupils  to  recipes  that  they  are  well 
nigh  helpless  without  them. 

Cafeteria  activities  center  about  the  preparation  of 
the  luncheon;  in  consequence  the  afternoon  instruction 
in  cooking  lacks  motivation.  As  a  meal  is  not  imminent, 
there  is  really  no  program  that  must  be  followed.  Hence 
the  instruction  lacks  vigor  and  content;  the  children  soon 
recognize  the  situation  and  cease  to  attend  regularly. 
Moreover,  the  teachers  are  exhausted  by  the  morning's 
ordeal,  and  are  hardly  in  condition  to  attempt  a 
systematic  effort.  A  few  dishes  are  prepared — cake, 
gelatine  desserts,  or  bread— by  a  late  afternoon  class, 
but  baked  by  another  group  next  morning.  On  Friday 
afternoon,  the  children  simply  mark  time,  bringing  note- 
books up  to  date  or  copying  recipes,  while  the  instructor 
checks  up  luncheon  receipts,  makes  out  market  or  grocery 
orders,  or  looks  after  clerical  details. 

It  must  be  frankly  admitted  that  the  results  of  the 
cooking  instruction  at  Gary  are  disappointing.  It  must 
also  be  frankly  admitted  that  home  making  in  its  well 
rounded  aspects  has  not  been  developed  and  cannot  be 
developed  so  long  as  cooking  is  confined  almost  entirely 
to  the  cafeteria.  The  cafeteria,  as  we  shall  point  out 
later,  has  its  part  to  play  inTa  well  thought  out  scheme. 


1 


MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  31 

But  from  the  point  of  view  of  home  making,  a  cafeteria, 
organized  on  a  large  scale,  is  as  far  removed  from  appli- 
cation to  the  home  as  were  the  individual  quantities 
used  almost  universally  a  few  years  ago.  The  cafe- 
teria problems  of  purchasing,  preparing,  and  serving 
food  are  quite  different  from  the  problems  the  house- 
wife faces. 

To  achieve  the  desired  results,  cooking  needs  to  be 
taught  under  conditions  as  nearly  like  those  of  the 
home  as  can  be  devised  and  as  are  practicable,  the 
endeavor  being  to  train  a  girl  so  thoroughly  that  she 
will  be  able  to  think  in  home  terms.  This  requires  a 
laboratory  kitchen  so  that  the  instruction  will  not  be 
sacrificed  to  the  demands  of  serving  the  noon  lunch. 
Wherever  possible  the  laboratory  kitchen  should  be 
supplemented  by  an  apartment  or  practice  house,  where 
the  multiple  tasks  of  the  household  can  be  carried  on 
simultaneously. 

This  brings  us  to  the  part  that  the  cafeteria  should 
play.  It  cannot  take  the  place  of  a  laboratory  kitchen, 
nor  can  the  two  be  combined.  The  aim  of  the  lab- 
oratory kitchen  is  educational — to  train  for  the  home;  the 
cafeteria  is  a  business  proposition  and  it  must  be  so 
conducted.  But  the  two  may  well  supplement  one 
another.  The  family  meals  planned  in  the  laboratory 
kitchen  can  be  arranged  according  to  the  cafeteria 
menu,  and  the  food,  if  up  to  standard,  can  be  utilized 
for  the  luncheon.  The  advanced  students  in  the  cook- 
ing classes  may  at  the  proper  time  take  their  place  in  the 


32       THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

cafeteria,  and  help  with  the  work  during  definite  periods 
of  apprenticeship;  the  household  arts  instructor,  acting 
as  "coordinator,"  should  see  to  it  that  the  tasks 
assigned  are  properly  graded  and  that  pupils  are  properly 
rotated.  The  cafeteria,  if  of  any  size,  should  be  in 
charge  of  an  assistant  chosen  because  of  trade  experience 
in  large  scale  catering  or  lunch  room  management. 
Such  a  person  may  or  may  not  have  had  household 
training.  Business  experience  is  the  essential  require- 
ment. The  second  asset  is  the  power  to  guide  pupils 
and  the  willingness  to  take  advantage  of  their  aid. 
The  type  of  organization  here  suggested  frees  the  house- 
hold arts  teacher  for  teaching  and  makes  her  respon- 
sible for  education  only;  at  the  same  time,  it  obtains 
from  the  cafeteria  certain  educational  advantages,  since 
through  it  the  children  get  opportunity  to  acquire  skill 
and  independence. 


B.     SEWING 

VII.    TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT 

SEWING  at  Gary  is  optional  for  high  school 
girls;  girls  in  the  elementary  school  are  required 
to  take  a  minimum  of  fifty  hours  in  either  the 
seventh  or  eighth  grade.  As  in  cooking,  most  of  the 
elementary  pupils  choose  to  take  more.  It  was  found 
that  greater  numbers  were  enrolled  in  the  sewing  classes 
than  in  cooking  and  at  a  much  younger  age  (Table  VIII). 
Although  a  majority  of  the  pupils  in  the  sewing 
classes  come  from  the  fifth  and  upper  grades,  pupils  as 
young  as  those  of  the  third  grade  are  found  engaged  in 
class  work.  They  are  not  helpers,  but  students.  In 
fact,  the  helper  system  is  not  so  conspicuous  in  the  sew- 
ing as  in  the  cooking  department;  only  in  rare  in- 
stances is  it  employed.  These  young  children  are 
seated  in  groups  at  the  side  or  the  corner  of  the  room. 
The  instructors  give  them  a  certain  amount  of  attention, 
teaching  them  crocheting  stitches,  how  to  knit,  how  to 
put  an  article  of  underwear  together,  and  the  like. 
They  apparently  enjoy  the  sewing  room,  and  seemingly 
do  not  annoy  or  hinder  the  work  of  the  older  pupils,  who 
have  no  responsibility  for  them. 

33 


34 


THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


TABLE  VIII 

ENROLLMENT  IN  ELEMENTARY  SEWING  CLASSES,  1915-1916 

Emerson 

FIRST  THIRTEEN  WEEKS 


GRADE 

No.  of 
Pupils 
Enrolled 

Regularly  Enrolled 

Enrolled   as  Helpers 

1 

hr. 

2 

hrs. 

1 
hr. 

2 

hrs. 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

23 

23 

Total 

23 

23 

SECOND   THIRTEEN  WEEKS 


3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

6 
6 

31 

17 

6 
6 

14 

Total 

43 

17 

26 

THIRD  THIRTEEN  WEEKS 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

8 
33 
18 
12 

12 

8 
33 
18 

71 

12 

59 

TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT        35 


Froebel 
FIRST  TEN  WEEKS 


GRADE 

No.  of 
Pupils 
Enrolled 

Regularly  Enrolled 

Enrolled  as  Helpers 

1   hr. 

2  hrs. 

Ihr. 

2  hrs. 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

5 
39 

18 
15 

16 

11 
15 
1 

15 

5 

28 
18 

Total 

93 

27 

15 

51 

SECOND  TEN  WEEKS 


3 

4 

24 

5 

19 

5 

36 

20 

16 

6 

40 

25 

15 

7 

7 

7 

8 

5 

5 

Total 

112 

37 

15 

25 

35 

THIRD  TEN  WEEKS 


3 

4 

55 

39 

16 

5 

33 

23 

10 

6 

15 

15 

7 

8 

27 

8 

19 

Total 

130 

23 

19 

62 

26 

FOURTH  TEN  WEEKS 


3 

4 

22 

12 

10 

5 

22 

22 

6 

13 

13 

-   7 

15 

11 

4 

8 

5 

5 

Total 

77 

29 

4 

34 

10 

THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 


w    o 


11 


OJOO 
CO  rH 


N  T-H 
(MrH 


-s.f 

•   CX  O 
O  3  2 


TIME  SCHEDULE  AND  ENROLLMENT        37 


II 

$ 


-g-s 

•II 

# 


•frs 


0 


NOOt-OO 


LO  OO  »O  LO 


38  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

A  group  of  sixth  grade  boys  also  received  instruction 
in  sewing  at  Emerson.  They  learned  to  sew  on  buttons 
and  were  engaged  in  making  caps  for  workers  in  the 
steel  mills  and  cloth  pencil  holders  for  use  in  the  schools. 

In  contrast  with  cooking,  sewing  is  rather  popular 
with  high  school  girls  (Table  IX).  Whether  they 
choose  sewing  in  order  to  gain  individual  skill  or  be- 
cause, with  the  assistance  of  the  instructor,  they  make 
clothes  for  themselves  and  members  of  their  family  is  a 
question.  At  all  events,  they  elect  it,  and,  as  might  be 
expected,  follow  their  choice  with  varying  degrees  of 
enthusiasm  and  ability. 


VIII.     EQUIPMENT,  STAFF  AND  INSTRUCTION 

A"  THOUGH   there   is    a    little    sewing    at    Glen 
Park  school  in  the  form  of  busy  work,  and 
somewhat  more  at  Jefferson,   there  is    really 
no  systematic  work  in  sewing  except  at  the  Emerson 
and   Froebel  schools.     The  equipment  at  these   two 
schools  is  ample  for  what  is  attempted,  the  same  equip- 
ment serving  both  elementary  and  high  school  pupils. 
It  consists  of  foot-power  and  electric  machines,  model 
busts,  sewing  tables,  pressing  boards,  and  electric  flat- 
irons. 

At  Emerson,  sewing  is  in  charge  of  an  academically 
trained  teacher,  who  also  teaches  geography  and  his- 
tory. At  Froebel,  the  household  arts  instructor  di- 
rects the  work.  In  each  school  there  is  a  practical 
woman  assistant,  and  these  assistants  do  most  of  the 
teaching.  This  arrangement  .should  bring  about  an 
admirable  balance.  The  practical  woman  learns  tried 
methods  of  instruction  and  comes  to  appreciate  the 
step-by-step  explanation  necessary  in  guiding  pupils, 
while  the  professionally  trained  teacher  learns  the 
"short  cuts"  of  trade  work. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  harder  working  corps  of 
trade  assistants  than  those  in  the  sewing  departments 

39 


40       THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

of  Emerson  and  Froebel.  They  teach  seven  hours  a 
day  and  are  constantly  on  the  alert.  The  teaching  is 
highly  individualized,  and,  although  the  pupils  are 
assembled  in  classes,  no  two  members  are  likely  to  be  at 
work  on  the  same  kind  of  article,  or  to  be  at  the  same 
point  even  if  making  the  same  thing.  Each  step  is  taught 
as  it  comes  up. 

Instruction  in  sewing  at  Gary  centers  around  the 
practical  needs  of  the  children.  Accordingly,  no  course 
of  study  is  marked  out.  Pupils  work  on  what  they 
want  or  need  to  make,  or  on  garments  provided  at  the 
request  of  parents.  The  teachers  buy  cotton  cloth, 
flannel  and  dress  findings  at  wholesale,  selling  them  to 
the  pupils  at  cost,  unless  the  parents  prefer  to  furnish 
material  themselves.  Thus,  a  younger  sister  needs  a 
dress,  which  at  once  becomes  a  project,  even  though 
the  elder  sister,  who  is  expected  to  make  it,  does  not 
know  how.  In  such  a  case  the  instructor  cuts  the  dress, 
while  the  pupil  looks  on.  In  the  making,  all  the  ele- 
mentary stitches  are  explained  and  tried  before  the 
child  proceeds.  Over-refinement  of  execution  is,  of 
course,  not  emphasized,  as  the  child  would  become 
bored  and  the  mother  impatient  at  the  delay  in  finish- 
ing the  article.  Thus,  no  time  is  lost  on  preparatory 
stitches  or  on  samplers;  the  children  work  from  the 
beginning  on  real  things.  The  courses  run  from  ten  to 
thirteen  weeks  in  length,  varying  with  the  school. 


IX.    TESTS 

TTN  ORDER  to  ascertain  whether  the  Gary  children 
receive  the  explanatory  and  supplementary  in- 
-*•  struction  necessary  to  make  their  practical  work 
intelligible,  two  written  tests  were  given.  The  ques- 
tions addressed  to  33  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  grade 
girls  were  as  follows: 

1.  Name  the  common  sewing  stitches.    Tell  how  each 
should  be  used. 

2.  Explain  a  French  seam.    Give  an  example  of  its  use. 

3.  To  do  good  sewing,  what  supplies  should  be  on  hand? 

4.  How  do  you  test  a  new  paper  pattern? 

5.  What  types  of  persons  should  avoid  plaids?    Stripes? 
Bright  colors? 

6.  What  do  you  consider  essential  to  good  gowning? 

7.  What  points  should  be  remembered  in  sewing  a  sleeve 
into  a  garment? 

8.  How  can  a  woman,  when  buying,  influence  factory 
conditions  under  which  clothing  is  made?    Explain. 

9.  What  decides  you  to  choose  between  ready-made 
and  home-made  garments? 

10.    How  much  instruction  have  you  had  in  sewing? 
Name  the  articles  you  have  made. 

Questions  i,  2,  3,  and  5  were  answered  correctly. 
Questions  4  and  7  brought  out  surprisingly  loose, 

41 


42  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

general  answers,  considering  that  question  10  elicited  a 
long  list  of  articles. 

Questions  6  and  9  were  answered  incompletely,  only 
one  factor,  as  a  rule,  being  mentioned. 

Question  8  was  not  attempted  by  most  of  the  pupils. 

The  second  test  was  given  to  35  tenth,  eleventh,  and 
twelfth  grade  students.  The  questions  were  as  follows: 

1.  What  considerations  enter  into  the  choice  of  different 
kinds  of  fabrics? 

2.  When  is  a  woman  "well  dressed'? 

3.  How  should  a  paper  pattern  be  altered  if  the  waist  is 
too  long?    If  the  waist  is  too  short? 

4.  Name,  in  succession,  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  cutting 
out  a  skirt  when  a  paper  pattern  is  used. 

5.  Which  is  easier  to  make,  a  shirt-waist  of  plain  ma- 
terial or  a  shirt-waist  of  plaid  material?    Explain. 

6.  Explain  what  a  placket  is. 

7.  Tell  how  to  press  a  seam. 

8.  With  what  sewing  machine  are  you  familiar?    What 
are  its  special  characteristics? 

9.  How  do  you  figure  the  cost  of  an  article  of  underwear? 
10.    Write  a  list  of  articles  you  have  made  at  home. 

Questions  3,  5,  6,  and  7  were  answered,  in  the  main, 
correctly. 

Questions  i  and  2  were  answered  in  very  general  terms. 

Question  8  was  not  answered  correctly  by  a  single  mem- 
ber of  the  group,  yet  all  stated  the  make  of  a  machine. 

Questions  4  and  9  elicited  indefinite  and  inaccurate 
answers. 


TESTS  43 

Question  10  brought  out  a  long  list. 

The  pupils  do  reasonably  well,  it  will  be  observed,  with 
questions  dealing  with  facts  and  with  questions  related 
closely  to  their  experiences,  but  they  are  weak  when 
called  on  for  general  information  and  for  reasoned 
answers.  In  justice  to  the  pupils,  it  should  be  said 
that  there  is  practically  no  class  discussion.  And  in 
justice  to  the  teachers,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the 
numbers  tested  are  small,  that  the  courses  in  sewing  are 
narrow,  and  there  is  no  leeway  for  related  work.  Though 
the  teachers  recognize  the  value  of  supplementary 
comment  and  instruction,  the  opportunities  for  it  are 
very  limited. 


X.    MERITS  AND  DEFECTS 

THERE  is  no  doubt  that  sewing  instruction  in  the 
past  has  erred  by  too  close  application  of  the 
A,  B,  C  of  technique,  and  by  devoting  too 
much  time  to  drill  on  valueless  objects.  Gary  is  to  be 
commended  for  breaking  away  from  this  lock-step  pro- 
cedure. But  in  attempting  to  construct  a  course  in 
sewing  around  personal  and  family  needs,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  she  has  gone  to  the  other  extreme. 

The  theory  of  the  Gary  work  in  sewing  assumes  that 
the  reality  of  the  task  assures  the  child's  interest  and 
that,  as  compared  with  this,  logical  sequence  in  the 
tasks  set  is  of  inferior  importance.  The  proposition 
cannot,  however,  be  accepted  in  this  simple  form.  While 
the  older  model  exercises  have  been  rightly  banished, 
some  form  of  regular  progress  is  unquestionably  indis- 
pensable. It  is  the  teacher's  business  to  advance  the 
child  more  or  less  regularly  through  the  main  steps  of 
plain  sewing,  dressmaking  and  millinery,  with  constant 
regard  at  each  step  for  the  realities  possible.  Thus, 
merely  formal  training  is  avoided;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  some  consideration  beyond  the  practical  needs  of 
the  moment  controls  procedure. 

Gary  wisely  avoids  mass  teaching  in  sewing.    On  the 

44 


MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  45 

other  hand,  with  its  classes  of  25  or  30,  helpers  being 
included,  individualization  is  apt  to  distract  the  teacher 
and  to  dissipate  her  energies.  As  each  pupil  goes  her 
own  way,  it  is  necessary  to  make  the  same  explanation 
over  and  over  again,  and  the  teacher  is  constantly  on  the 
jump.  Far  more,  we  believe,  could  be  done  for  the 
children  if  they  were  handled  in  groups.  Certain  prin- 
ciples in  all  household  art  processes  can  be  demonstrated 
and  explained  to  a  number  of  pupils  at  one  time.  The 
majority  will  be  able,  as  a  result  of  the  demonstration, 
to  carry  out  the  process,  and  thus  the  instructor  is  left 
free  to  help  those  in  need  of  special  assistance. 

It  may  be,  too,  that  this  excessive  effort  to  individual- 
ize instruction  accounts  for  the  strain  noticeable  among 
the  practical  assistants,  especially  when  this  is  coupled 
with  a  seven  hour  day.  A  trade  day  is  a  day  of  eight 
hours,  it  is  true,  but  there  are  difficulties  involved  in 
instructing  mixed  groups  of  children  which  make  a 
seven  hour  day  in  the  classroom  more  exhausting  than 
eight  hours  in  the  work  shop  of  a  dressmaking  estab- 
lishment. 

Again,  the  emphasis  at  Gary  on  actual  production  is 
commendable,  but  sewing  instruction  is  something 
more  than  learning  to  sew  on  buttons  and  hooks  and 
eyes,  and  learning  to  mend  and  make  simple  garments. 
Ability  to  do  these  things  and  to  do  them  well  is  desir- 
able, but  it  is  quite  as  important  that  children  give 
attention  to  the  kind  and  character  of  the  garments 
required  for  different  purposes,  to  the  worth  and  quality 


46  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

of  different  fabrics,  to  dyes,  and  to  a  multitude  of  other 
matters  essential  to  the  proper  background  for  clothing 
a  modern  family. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  appropriate  records,  it  was  im- 
possible to  determine  the  amount  of  sewing  the  children 
had  had  and  to  judge  their  accomplishments  in  the  light 
of  the  amount  of  time  given  to  their  training.  Observa- 
tions of  the  classroom  work  and  inspection  of  garments 
yielded  a  few  vivid  impressions. 

In  the  first  place,  the  standard  of  accomplishment  is 
by  no  means  high.  In  the  lower  grades  this  may  be  due 
to  the  fact  that  pupils  with  little  or  no  prior  experience 
often  begin  at  once  to  make  garments.  Under  these 
conditions  a  finished  product  of  high  quality  could  not 
be  expected.  Much  of  the  work  of  the  advanced  pu- 
pils is  also  below  standard.  While  it  is  true  that  trade 
work  and  school  instruction  differ,  still,  in  so  far  as  the 
processes  are  common,  the  home  making  standard 
should  equal  the  trade  standard.  Gary  certainly 
judges  its  products  more  leniently  than  does  the  trade. 

Again,  the  instruction  is  hardly  calculated  to  result 
in  capacity  to  do  independent  work.  Obviously,  not 
much  can  be  expected  at  the  outset  of  children  who 
begin  their  school  work  in  sewing  with  garment  making. 
The  difficulty  is  that  throughout  the  course  the  teachers 
are  apt  to  do  so  much  of  the  thinking  that  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  many  pupils  can,  on  completing  their 
course,  put  a  dress  together  by  themselves.  There  are, 
to  be  sure,  exceptions  and  for  these  the  system  is  en- 


MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  47 

titled  to  full  credit.  That  is,  there  are  students  who 
sew  skillfully  and  who  cut  and  fit  with  sureness. 
On  the  whole,  however,  it  remains  true  that  suffi- 
cient drill  is  not  given  in  the  principles  of  garment 
making,  nor  is  the  power  to  think,  as  applied  to  sew- 
ing and  garment  construction,  satisfactorily  devel- 
oped. 
Finally,  too  little  pressure  is  put  on  the  students;  as  a 

result,  they  do  not  take  their  work  seriously.  A  degree 
of  inattention  in  the  elementary  grades  is  excusable,  but 
in  the  high  school  grades,  there  should  be  evidence  of 
concentration  aiming  at  a  definite  object.  This  was 
by  no  means  commonly  in  evidence.  A  class  supposed 
to  start  at  2  :i  £  did  not  get  down  to  work  until  2 135.  Of 
a  group  numbering  14,  only  nine  were  occupied.  These 
were  busy — three  on  underwear,  one  on  an  apron,  an- 
other on  a  duck  skirt,  a  sixth  in  making  bloomers,  a 
seventh  embroidering  a  sofa  cushion,  an  eighth,  a  center- 
piece, and  the  ninth  was  cutting  out  a  dress.  A  monthly 
school  paper  had  just  been  published  and  the  remaining 
five  members  of  the  class  were  absorbed  in  looking  through 
the  issue  and  in  discussing  the  same.  The  thread  at  a 
sewing  machine  broke.  The  pupil  did  not  re-thread 
that  machine  but  moved  to  another.  At  another  time 
a  group  of  girls  came  into  the  sewing  room  and  part  of 
them  went  to  work.  The  rest  were  absorbed  in  reading 
"The  Tempest,"  which  was  to  be  performed  that  after- 
noon by  the  senior  class. 

In  sewing  as  in  cooking,  the  experience  of  Gary  shows 


48  THE  GARY  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 

that  mere  practical  ends — the  cooking  of  the  daily  school 
luncheon  or  the  making  of  needed  garments — are  not 
alone  broadly  or  sufficiently  educative.  Training  should 
aim  to  give  the  pupil  an  intelligent  grasp  of  both  subjects. 
The  child  must  of  course  be  able  to  cut,  fit  and  sew;  but 
she  must  also  have  an  interest  in  fabrics,  designs,  uses, 
etc.  The  instruction  must  have  a  conscious,  central 
aim;  it  must  touch,  now  here,  now  there,  the  child's  other 
studies  and  activities. 

A  course  can  be  conceived  and  executed  in  this  spirit 
only  if  there  is  team  play  between  instructors  under 
proper  supervision.  At  Gary,  unfortunately,  the  single 
supervisor  of  manual  work  devotes  himself  almost 
entirely  to  the  industrial  work  for  boys.  The  household 
arts  themselves  require  the  full  time  of  a  supervisor. 
Not  only  is  there  need  of  a  supervisor  to  stimulate  and 
assist  the  teachers,  but  to  exercise  leadership  in  solving 
the  perplexing  problems  surrounding  the  practical  train- 
ing of  girls,  in  experimenting  with  courses  of  study,  or- 
ganization and  methods,  and  in  working  out  connections 
with  other  studies  and  especially  with  the  home. 

The  foregoing  pages  endeavor  to  depict  with  complete 
impartiality  the  actual  instruction  given  in  the  Gary 
schools  in  household  arts  and  the  theory  on  which  the  in- 
struction is  based.  No  effort  has  been  made  to  extenuate 
defects;  every  effort  has  been  made  to  do  full  justice.  It 
remains,  however,  to  be  said  that  there  is  danger  that 
such  an  account  as  has  been  given  may  mislead  because 


MERITS  AND  DEFECTS  49 

it  fails  to  give  the  reader  a  proper  realization  of  the  atti- 
tude and  spirit  of  the  Gary  pupils.  These  pupils  are 
happy  and  this  is  a  point  that  cannot  be  ignored  when  an 
inventory  is  taken.  In  the  writer's  judgment,  the  hap- 
piness and  spontaneity  of  the  children  are  due  to  a  variety 
of  causes — to  the  flexibility  of  the  schedule,  to  the  develop- 
ment of  special  activities,  to  the  absence  of  repressive 
rules,  to  the  general  feeling  that  the  school  exists  for 
the  child,  not  the  child  for  the  school.  , 


THE  PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE 
GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD 

REPORTS: 

THE  GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD:  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  ITS  ACTIV- 
ITIES, 1902-1914.  254  PAGES. 

REPORT  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD, 
1914-1915.  82  PAGES. 

REPORT  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD, 
1915-1916.  86  PAGES. 

REPORT  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  GENERAL  EDUCATION  BOARD, 
I9I6-I9I7.  87  PAGES. 

STUDIES: 

PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  MARYLAND,  BY  ABRAHAM  FLEXNER  AND 
FRANK  P.  BACHMAN.  2ND  EDITION.  176  PAGES,  WITH  APPEN- 
DIX. 

THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL,  BY  THOMAS  H.  BRIGGS.* 
COLLEGE  AND  UNIVERSITY  FINANCE,  BY  TREVOR  ARNETT.* 

OCCASIONAL  PAPERS: 

1.  THE    COUNTRY    SCHOOL    OF    TO-MORROW,    BY    FREDERICK    T. 

GATES.      15  PAGES. 

2.  CHANGES    NEEDED    IN    AMERICAN    SECONDARY     EDUCATION, 

BY  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT.       29  PAGES. 

3.  A  MODERN  SCHOOL,    BY  ABRAHAM  FLEXNER.      23  PAGES. 

4.  THE    FUNCTION    AND   NEEDS    OF    SCHOOLS   OF   EDUCATION   IN 

UNIVERSITIES     AND    COLLEGES,      BY    EDWIN    A.    ALDERMAN. 

31  PAGES,  WITH  APPENDIX. 
5-  LATIN  AND  THE  A.  B.  DEGREE,  BY  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT. 

21  PAGES,  WITH  APPENDIX. 
6.  THE  WORTH  OF  ANCIENT  LITERATURE  TO  THE  MODERN 

WORLD,  BY  VISCOUNT  BRYCE.      2O  PAGES. 

*  In  Preparation. 


The  REPORTS  issued  by  the  Board  are  official  accounts  of  its  ac- 
tivities and  expenditures.  The  STUDIES  represent  work  in  the  field 
of  educational  investigation  and  research  which  the  Board  has  made 
possible  by  appropriations  defraying  all  or  part  of  the  expense  involved. 
The  OCCASIONAL  PAPERS  are  essays  on  matters  of  current  edu- 
cational discussion,  presenting  topics  of  immediate  interest  from  vari- 
ous points  of  view.  In  issuing  the  STUDIES  and  OCCASIONAL 
PAPERS,  the  Board  acts  simply  as  publisher,  assuming  no  responsibil- 
ity for  the  opinions  of  the  authors. 

The  publications  of  the  Board  may  It  obtained  on  request 


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